As Josh climbed the ranks of the Rangers, his strengths and weaknesses were becoming more apparent. While he was a savant at rescues from even Hoenn's roughest terrain, they were all in-and-out operations. The one time he had been trapped in a cave with Matt Vice having to rescue him, he was in no real danger. This island survival challenge that annalise henderson suggested he sign up for to improve his Ranger skills would put him in very real danger. Raising money for Littleroot's recovery operation was a nice side benefit, but the main reason for his presence was to impeove his survival skills. After all, he might need them on a rescue mission gone awry!

The Mauville Gym Leader felt the recoil of a shockwave wash over him as his Garchomp mount's bio-thrusters roared, the two shooting high above eastern Hoenn's seas at hypersonic speed. He was so glad Michael Navidson had allowed him to raise one of the Gible that was a part of his family of dragons, developing the young but aggressive one into the fastest flying Pokémon on his team. If this was why his friend Shalin wore earplugs when riding her bugs, he now understood completely. Alphamax's thrusters were loud even through the earplugs. With them, they would have caused permanent hearing damage.

Josh grunted as Alphamax eased his thrust back, controlling the Garchomp truly like piloting an airplane. The two landed on the sand-covered outskirts of the large island, Josh putting all his possessions on his person except what he wore, his six Poké Balls, and a basic, Ranger-issued survival kit into a bag a contest judge held open. They would be returned to him at the end of the contest. For now, it would be him, his Pokémon, and his Ranger skills against the world for the several days they needed to live on their own for. It would be back to the Bewear Necessities, indeed.

Josh was dressed in his standard Ranger uniform, a light red top, red armband, and red badge indicating his rank as a Senior Ranger. He wasn't even allowed to keep his earplugs or helmet and visor for the challenge; he would need to find something natural to plug his ears. Plus, not having a windshield in front of his face would severely limit how fast he could fly on his Pokémon. As it turned out, flying faster than the speed of sound with no eye protection was asking for trouble.

"Great to meet you, Niky!" Josh returned the greeting, dismounting his Garchomp that wore full riding gear, who made a big flexing motion to try to impress Josh's partner. "Senior Ranger Devlin or Gym Leader Devlin, but I go by Josh. This is Alphamax, my Garchomp and the fastest pair of wings I've got." He leaned into the dragon-type's side a little, still somewhat woozy from hypersonic flight. "Hope you're ready for the next few days."

Niky Racz

{WC: 489}
{PC: 1}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

As expected, mostly, the man didn't arrive in the typical fashion. But the gym leader did great him warmly. A Garchomp...now that was a Pokemon. While the flexing did impress his little Larvitar, the little guy huffed and stood as tall as he could. Which wasn't very tall. One day, buddy, one day. "I'll call you Josh then. This is Gojira, one of my A-team buddies. He's not usually so puffed up..." The blonde couldn't help but chuckle at his Pokemon's antics. It was nice to see the fella's competitive side. He didn't see it very often considering his jobs. "I'm as ready as I can be. Just be aware of my bum knee. Hopefully that doesn't slow us down...lead the way? I'm good enough at directions, but I'm not usually out camping a lot...let alone the best places."

Especially since his knee got so destroyed. Even after the successful surgeries, he wasn't doing that very often. But he did have some neat tricks Gojira was able to pull off. Walking into the jungle, Niky tried to keep pace with the ranger and his Garchomp. A good place to set up shelter would be his first go to, but maybe also someplace that they can secure some food easily as well. But he also didn't know this island very well. At least he would have the fire situation handled with Sol. Luckily, Gojira was already gathering up twigs for that exact reason. Campfires...


Josh Devlin

The only pieces of Pokémon gear Josh was allowed to bring were the saddles his Pokémon wore, and that was on a technicality; they would take the spots that an item like a Mega Stone would. While Alphamax was fantastic at flying, his saddle was not engineered for land traversal. "Gojira's got spunk," he complimented the small but rambunctious-looking Larvitar. "The little one would serve you well on the Gym circuit after growing up."

When Niky mentioned he had a bad knee, Josh frowned. "Would a Pokémon help with that at all?" The Gym Leader withdrew his dragon-type and sent out the three land Pokémon he would come to rely on for his travels across the large island: Mystic the Ninetales, Saber the Manectric, and Blinky the Jolteon. All of them were quite large for their species, and also had custom-fit gear to keep a potential rider from falling. "I use these three at my Gym a lot. They're obedient enough if riding a Pokémon would help." Mystic shot Josh an unfriendly stare, not even invading his mind with a scolding. "Mystic only likes me riding her, but Blinky and Saber here won't mind!"

Regardless of whether Niky would accept the offer, Josh climbed atop Mystic, the fire-type using her EXTRASENSORY power to keep her trainer from falling. "As a Ranger, I had to read up on this sort of thing in case I got marooned in the wild on a mission. The three things we need to secure first are food, water, and shelter," Josh explained, Gojira already gathering wood for both a fire and shelter. "Looks like your Larvitar is getting the shelter part taken care of. We should find a spring. Wild Pokémon tend to gather around fresh water, and we may have to hunt them for food. We need to have all three of these things handled by sundown today. If we have to, we have Pokémon to use as light sources if we need to build the shelter after dark. I'd prefer to get it done before the sun goes down, though."

Niky Racz

{WC: 354}
{PC: 2}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

"Maybe. If we were really at all interested. But he's been fantastic help at my job too." Gojira puffed up from the praise. "I got Optimus the Metang and Polygon the Porygon-Z to lean on if it gets bad enough. My cane and knee brace helps wonders for being on my feet for most of a day. Worst comes to worst, I got ways to handle it without the need for pain killers. I'll be good. But the option is nice to know." It was sweet of him to offer. Even if the Ninetails was a little stuck up.

Josh soon started to prove his worth though. Namely his Ranger training. Even mentioning Gojira's role. "That's just firewood. I got Sol the Larvesta for making a fire if need be, as well as a source of light. She also knows String Shot, and that can be useful in a lot of different ways. Gojira still has shelter covered due to a trick we worked on. Soon as we find a spring or something, we can show it off. I also got Fabia the Popplio to put out any unncessary fires too." While all of his Pokemon were capable fighters, his Metang and Porygon-Z were probably his best ones for now. Hopefully they can find a source of fresh water soon.

It may have taken a few hours, but they did find a fresh water pond. Well, a small array of interconnected ones. If Josh gave his okay, Niky would turn to Gojira. And Slick the Bagon, who had been let out to also collect firewood when Gojira's arms got full. Both Pokemon put their piles next to each other. The Larvitar jumped up, and slammed on the ground, using Stone Edge. With it, he created two teepees of stone. When the stopped glowing, they stayed still and completely supported, with an opening to each one. They did face each other, allowing them to share a single heat source if needed. "It may take the rest of the day plus tomorrow, but Sol's String Shot might be able to add some insulation to the inside of both of them if need be. If you can scout out the area around for any fruit trees or berry bushes, I can see if I can work on a fishing line of some sort first." Hopefully he can be useful in that way without just relying completely on his Pokemon...

Josh Devlin

Unsurprisingly, Niky had come just as prepared as Josh did. He had his own Pokémon he preferred. At least he couldn't say he didn't try! "They'll be around if you need them," he reassured, letting out a grunt as Mystic lightly tossed his back upward. "Hey!" Josh quipped toward the Fire-type. "Relax! We'll be taking off soon. Just want to make sure Niky will be okay on his own!"

STRING SHOT was a great tool that even many Rangers overlooked. He even knew a certain someone that used its sticky properties as a makeshift harness. Sure, it required specialized Pokémon or tools to remove, but properly applied, there was no falling off even the wildest, most unruly mount! While it wouldn't be the best insulator, it would serve as an adhesive that would greatly reduce the amount of wood that would be needed in building the shelter.

"That's great!" Josh answered with a smile. It seemed that Niky had done his homework before signing up for the challenge. "It is important that we at least get something functional tonight, though. Hoenn's weather is wild, and we can't exactly see the forecast."

Several hours had passed, and the sun was getting low in the sky, but Josh and Mystic had secured water, shelter, and Berries for at least the first day. They were mostly Rawst and Oran Berries, but they would have to do. "I'm going to do another pass over the island tomorrow, this time with Alphamax, my Garchomp. The berry trees I got these from were not close. Plus, we'll need to actually hunt game."

Niky Racz

{WC: 268}
{PC: 3}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

Niky brightened at the compliments. Even with the stone teepees, there was still gaps in them. Sol filled those in with String Shot. But the young man also worked on creating a few makeshift fishing rods. They could do some fishing for some meals. Unfortunatly, the berry bushes were quite far, according to Josh. "We should save some for bait. I'm sure I can catch a few tasty fish Pokemon to fry up..." Hopefully no Crawdaunt or Corphish. The meat on those water pokemon was known to taste awful and smell even worse. Hopefully the ponds have some good fishies...

Though the problem is a more balanced diet. And berries were far. "I can see if Slick or Polygon can find any nice Tropius around. But we also should be wary of predators, right?" That was another concern. Though a Garchomp and Ninetails were major predators themselves...who knows if any would dare try to do something. Sol could lay out some traps and some early warning systems. But he didn't know what there was to be worried about out here. He still nodded at Sol to go around doing things. Gojira did get more firewood for them to burn. Polygon as well. With that, that should be enough to settle for the night. With a little Ember from Sol, they had fires going. The Larvesta still glared at anything that moved. Even Josh and his Ninetales, Manetric, Jolteon, and Garchomp.

Josh Devlin

A balanced diet was very important. Including sufficient protein and citrus nutrients was the biggest challenge of any situation where one was truly living off the land. He would certainly be craving a good meal at the Beautiful and Dustox in Fortree after this was over. That or Mamma Mia's in Lavaridge. Both of those restaurants were fantastic. "I'm glad you can fish, because I never had the patience for fishing," Josh admitted. "I haven't been to a fresh fish fry in a while. Before my first trip to Hoenn, I think. I'm sure you'll catch us something great."

While Berries were far, they weren't as much of a problem as it would normally be. Josh's extremely swift mount Pokémon gave him a lot of mobility. It was mostly a big inconvenience hauling them back, and even he would get saddle sore after too long. Every person had their limits, even the Master of Faster himself. "Speaking of predators, I'm sure my Pokémon would be great at hunting. We have enough Pokémon among us that they should be able to keep watch for us overnight. Tomorrow I do want to do some more scouting to get an idea of what predators we need to prepare for."

They at least had enough food for themselves and their Pokémon to get through the day tomorrow. While food was far from balanced, they had water and shelter taken care of. That was important. "The sun's getting awful low, and even with fire Pokémon, seeing at night is too hard. Once the sun's down, I can share a couple stories from Johto with you before we turn in for the night. We've got a long few days ahead of us."

Niky Racz

{WC: 291}
{PC: 4}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

Well, Niky wasn't so sure about that. "Well, we'll see how patient I really am. I was always on the go, and even after my accident, I didn't like just sitting around for too long..." Though perhaps he had to slow it down since then. Still he was always trying to stay active...even during his manic depression days. What Josh said about the predators was a good idea. Niky just nodded. Nothing that really needed commented on after all.

With the sun being low, the ranger offered to tell stories about Johto. "Sure! I've never been...well, I was supposed to make my grand entrance when an accident tore the crap out of my left knee, and so that never happened. Kanto would have been the last place, but considering...that situation, probably never would try..." He'd let his entire team eat, then himself. Sol lit their fires too. And when they were ready to go to bed, he'll have Fabia put them out...

~

The next morning, Niky stretched as he put his shirt back on. He'd taken it off and folded it to make a pillow out of it, that made sleeping tolerable. Maybe getting some leaves and sticking them to thread for some kind of makeshift bed would be helpful. Josh looked like he was already gone, probably scouting or getting more berries. "Hey Optimus, can you gather a bunch of leaves, and have Sol use her String Shot to make a bed of some sort? I'm going to see how fishing works out for me..." Taking his makeshift fishing rods and some berries, off he went to see what he can catch...with cane in hand. Slick and Gojira left to gather more firewood/twigs. Fabia stuck around to guard the camp, and Polygon followed Niky to the lake. After setting the lines, it was a waiting game...



Josh Devlin

With the sun fully down and the only light their campfire, Josh began to share the story of the Two Johtonian Towers and the Hero of Johto, though he would refrain from sharing his personal desire to befriend and ride Raikou. "Since I was a child, I've always wanted to meet Raikou." Perhaps after they had gotten to know each other a bit better, he would be more forthcoming.

Josh woke up a little sore the next morning. After he seen Niky's sleeping arrangements, he wished he had asked for a similar bed. That was part of the challenge, though! Plus, he wouldn't have to deal with this on long-term Ranger jobs, as he would at least be allowed to bring a tent and sleeping bag. It was still a good experience to have, as it could save his life if the worst happened to him! Seeing his partner was still fast asleep, he grabbed a small clump of Rawst Berries for breakfast, crawled out of the makeshift tent quietly and recalled all of his Pokémon.

When he was a safe distance away from the flammable camp, Josh sent out his Charizard, Ares, and mounted up. He was glad he had brought at least one aerial Pokémon with a relatively quiet takeoff; even from a distance, Alphamax's bio-engines would have assuredly aroused Niky from slumber! With the growl of a dragon, the two soared skyward, getting a good view of the island in the morning sun.

It was quite a bit larger than Josh had expected. Near its center was a watering hole fed by a stream from the island's extinct volcano. Wild game suitable for human consumption would almost assuredly gather around it! Many of his Pokémon were fire-types and electric-types whose ranged attacks would almost certainly overcook the very meat they would be eating. They would, however, almost assuredly be good for hauling their catch back!

Now several miles from the camp, he switched aerial rides to his Garchomp, the noise from Alphamax's ears would be audible but not deafening. Even riding the Garchomp at relatively low speeds that still managed to challenge that of some of his other aerial Pokémon was proving difficult, particularly when he was holding half of his Doublade, Yagyu, in his hand. Now it was just a matter of finding appropriate prey...

Niky Racz

{WC: 393}
{PC: 5}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

Niky listened intently. He didn't know if the dark haired man was a Johto native or just had extensive knowledge of the place's lore. "Who wouldn't want to meet a Legendary? Hell, I'd try to catch one..." The blonde didn't have any major dreams regarding Pokemon...he just liked rare Pokemon, and what was rarer than a Legendary? He didn't have much to add on for the stories.

As he waited, Niky just started to pace around his four fishing lines. On the opposite side of the interconnecting ponds were Slowpoke. Somewhere, he read that their tails made a great stew. Something similar maybe could be roasted and made? The young man hobbled over to see if any of the fishing Slowpoke had shed their tails. Looking around, and somewhat searching around the area, he didn't find anything. Sighing heavily, the disappointed amatuer outdoorsman went back to his lines. One of which was getting pulled. Excited, Niky dropped his cane and ran over to it and pulled. Basculan! One discharge later, and that was one. In five hours, that was the only one.

Reeling all of his lines in, he saw that something ate the bait, but nothing actually stayed caught. Well, one fish would have to be enough. Retrieving his cane, he returned to the camp. To find several Houndour and Poocheyna running away from Fabia, who also looked worse for wear. Great...puppers that didn't know their place. Good thing his water type knew Moonblast. Putting Polygon on watch, he looked over and did his best to patch up the injured Pokemon. At about that time, his other Pokemon returned from the trips. Luckily, Optimus and Sol made two beds. How sweet of them. But they were also concerned about the injured Fabia. When Josh returned, Niky spoke to him about the attack. "Houndour and Poocheyana attacked the camp. How much you want to bet that there's a Houndoom and Mighyena leading the packs?" Though weren't they also nocturnal Pokemon? What were they doing attacking in broad daylight? The former idol also held up the single Basculan. And a few fungus that were edible...hopefully...he needed confirmation from the ranger...


Josh Devlin

Was Niky also interested in bonding with a legendary Pokémon? Perhaps he understood the allure of the chase just as much as Josh did. Just maybe he could be trusted with his dream, too. He already had Rockets on his ass just by virtue of being Mauville's Gym Leader, and the DRK Triad likely hunting him from what he suspected was a mole among the Rangers' ranks. That would be a story for tomorrow night, though.

It was a good thing Josh's hunt was successful; he had brought back a number of Pokémon carcasses. They were all small, but they would have to do. Along with the single Basculin, it would at least get them through today. Niky had also gone foraging and was waiting for Josh's approval for the mushrooms they had picked. "Unfortunately, I don't recognize a lot of these," he answered, picking out the few that he knew were safe to eat.

He had come back to a bigger problem, though; there was rampant evidence that there was a skirmish near their camp. There were Poochyena and Houndour tracks everywhere. That meant there were a Mightyena and Houndoom out there. If he could track one or both of those down, then they would be set on food for a while! "You wouldn't happen to have an ice Pokémon, would you? I don't know how tasty their meat would be, but if we can find their packs' leaders and hunt them down, we'd be set on food for a while if you have a way to preserve them!" It wouldn't be tantalizing at all. But the two couldn't afford to be picky eaters.

Niky Racz

{WC: 278}
{PC: 6}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good

Niky put the other mushrooms aside, to see if any could be used for bait. The hunt did become fruitfull though, and with his Basculin, should be good. Josh did float the idea of hunting down the leaders of the packs. "Fabia knows Icy Wind, but that's not enough to freeze and preserve. Haven't gotten time to teach her Ice Beam yet. We might be good on food for awhile if successful, but lets not forget that those two packs are normally nocturnal Pokemon. Or cave dwellers. Don't you think something might have disturbed them a bit? Beyond just us maybe being in their territory?" He was mildly surprised that the ranger didn't think about that first.

Well, either way, he would have Gojira set up a wall around their camp with Stone Edge, with a single opening. Fabia and Sol were both going to stay. "Might not be a bad idea to keep one of yours around either, so long as they have a ranged attack." That way, the injured Fabia wouldn't be so pressured. Luckily, Sol and Optimus had managed to complete both Josh's and Niky's beds. At least they were off the ground some. After some serious talk, it was Niky's turn for a little share and tell. "I was once an idol. Then I took a car to the knee..." And fell into a depression, helped only by supportive family, a hobby in collecting rare Pokemon, and a side of therapy. He might have admitted that the partners were somewhat rigged, so the two of them would be partnered up because his family, who was among the sponsors of this little shin-dig, were worry worts because of his bad knee.

Then it was sleepy time...

Josh Devlin

It was unfortunate that all of Josh's ice Pokémon were also marine Water-types as well, and were disqualified from participating in the challenge. What he wouldn't give to have Ulysses, his Dewgong, here. He could preserve any game they hunted with little issue. "Was worth a try. Guess we'll just have to hunt and forage while everything's fresh." The evening's subject matter changed to the wild Pokémon attacks on their camp and why they could be happening.

"Right. Might be worth investigating tomorrow." Many Rangers, like Josh, were highly specialized; Josh's specialty was not microecology; instead, it was wilderness rescues. Give him a radius, and he and his Pokémon would find the person in need and make sure they got back to town safely. He listened to Niky's story about success as an idol followed by a career-ending vehicle accident. It was sad, but one Josh was all too familiar with. Racing accidents were rare, but when they did happen, were often career ending. As much as safety protocols had advanced, the sport of Pokémon racing was simply dangerous.

The Hoennian sunrise aroused Josh early in the morning, Niky's well-built shelter holding up through the somewhat windy night. Oran and Rawst Berries were the Champion's breakfast of the day, "Morning," the Gym Leader yawned, recalling the Pokémon of his that had been on final watch that night. They needed their sleep, too. "The more I got to thinking, the more you're right. We really should get to the bottom of why those nocturnal Pokémon were so active in broad daylight. Let's form a plan."

Niky Racz

{WC: 270}
{PC: 7}

NAME          SPECIES        STATUS
Saber         Manectric      Good
Ares          Charizard      Good
Alphamax      Garchomp       Good
Mystic        Ninetales      Good
Blinky        Jolteon        Good
Yagyu         Doublade       Good